Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman spoke with The After Hours crew following the team's 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. After discussing the details of how Connor McDavid's contract came together, the topic shifted to goaltending and the scrutiny the organization faces, as the position could use an upgrade.
The discussion was particularly poignant because Calvin Pickard secured the win on Saturday, while Stuart Skinner made a terrible read in Wednesday's regular-season opener, which led to Calgary coming back and eventually winning in a shootout.
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When asked about the spotlight that shines on Edmonton's goaltending, Bowman responded, "Right now, that's the times that we're in and there's a lot of attention, on Stuart [Skinner] in particular." He admitted that Skinner made a bad play on game-tying goal, but added. "...the first two goals are, I mean nobody is going to stop those. It was kind of fluke plays.."
He then pointed out one of the most ironic and intriguing facts that no one seemed to point out. He said that nobody "got a shot past our goalie that night."
Technically, Bowman was, in a manner of speaking, correct.
On the first goal, the puck went off an Oilers' defender and through Skinner. On the second shot, it was a questionable high stick that wasn't overturned. The third goal, where the puck sat in front of Skinner and the miscommunication between himself and Evan Bouchard resulted in Blake Coleman poking the puck under Skinner.
While technically a shot on goal, calling that a "shot" would be generous. It was a gift that, to be fair, Coleman took advantage of.
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Bowman noted that there's a lot of attention on the Oilers' goalies, but that it's not always evenly distributed. He said, "I thought back to our second last preseason game in Seattle and a mistake that Pickard made which wound up in a similarly ugly goal against. Calvin made a mistake playing the puck and it wound up in the back of Edmonton's net. Bowman said, "Nobody talked about it, right? It was basically the same type of thing just to Calvin. This happens to every goalie a couple times a year." He then said of Skinner, "He still made some big saves but nobody remembers those saves, right. So that's part of it. I understand that."
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Skinner didn't have a bad game against the Flames. He made a bad play. Those are two different things. The question becomes, how often can he afford to make bad plays, even though every goalie makes them?
The answer appears to be, not often.
There is too much riding on each game the Oilers play this season and the importance of points from every game as Edmonton plays out this season. When a goaltender who has gotten the Oilers to the Finals twice, but hasn't won, messes up, the mistakes are magnified. His solid, but often inconsistent track record has worn thin on the fan base.
Bowman is prepared to give it some more time.
At the end of the day, The GM isn't worried. "You know we've played two good games so far, and if we keep playing like that, then we're going to be okay."
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